Luk 17:12-13 | KingComments | STEP | Luke reminds us again that the Lord is on His way to Jerusalem to die there. His route has been determined. On this route are Samaria and Galilee. The disciples are not mentioned. In the history with the ten leprous men it is about how someone becomes a worshiping disciple. When the Lord enters a village, He meets ten leprous men. These men, in accordance with the law of the leper, remain standing at a distance ( ). But instead of shouting ‘unclean, unclean’, they call to the Lord that He will have mercy on them. They shout more in their distress than in faith. Yet that is enough to draw His attention to them. And He does not only hear them; He also sees them. He sees how miserable they are. He does not speak a word of healing, as in a previous case of healing, nor does He touch them (cf. ). He orders them to go to the priests and show themselves to them. He sends them to the priests who will soon condemn Him to death ( ; ). His command means as much as ‘you are healed’. It would have been useless to have them declared unclean by the priest. They knew that. They accept the word of the Lord and go away in that conviction and are healed on the way. The Lord, by His command, challenges the faith of these men, while also maintaining the prescriptions of the law for those under the law. The law requires that a person who has been healed from the plague of leprosy, without saying how this healing could happen, will show himself to the priest to be cleansed. This is carefully described in detail in Leviticus 14. It is an important prescription that these lepers must follow, for thus it becomes a testimony of the power of God now at work on earth. For, of course, the question will arise: How are these lepers healed? This will in this case immediately draw attention to the fact that the Christ of God is present and that He truly reveals the power of God in grace. They have to go first. They do not see anything on their bodies when they are told to go, but when they go, it happens that they are cleansed. When one of the ten, a Samaritan, sees that he is healed, he does not walk on to the priests. He returns to the Lord, for in Him He has found God. He acknowledges that Christ is the source of God’s blessing. The Samaritan is outside Judaism and therefore not entangled in the traditions with which the Pharisees imprison the people. He is therefore free to go back to the Lord. The other nine could say that he is presumptuous, disobedient, and they are not. For they act according to the word of the Lord and he doesn’t do that. He told them clearly that they had to go and show themselves to the priests. However, he is the only one who understands that the Lord Jesus is God. Therefore he goes back to show himself to Him, to throw himself down before Him at His feet and to thank Him. He no longer has to stand at a distance. The Lord sees the one and asks for the nine others. He has cleansed all ten of them of their leprosy, but the nine have only benefited from His power and are content to remain Jews. They do not leave the old sheepfold, but remain locked up in the legal system. Neither in Him nor in the power of God have they seen anything attractive. After having experienced the advantage of it, they carry on in the same old way. There is no thanks to Him in them. The Lord asks where they are, a question that still has to be asked today. Where do Christians still come together with the aim of worshiping Him and God for the great work that He accomplished on the cross for their cleansing? He emphasizes the difference between the nine and the one by asking for it, more by remarking, that only this one stranger gives glory to God. He expresses His disappointment that the nine Jews, the members of His people, did not go to God. At the same time He emphasizes the gratitude of him who stands outside the people of God, but has now in reality become part of them. The Lord has an additional blessing for the Samaritan, for only he receives the word of salvation [‘has made you well’ is literally ‘has saved you’] from Him, while the nine have only received the announcement of the cleansing of their leprosy. He no longer says a word about showing themselves to the priest. The Samaritan has found God. In the healing of his leprosy he has experienced the gracious power of God, a power he has recognized in Christ and because of what he has given glory to Him.

‏ Luke 17:12-13

Cleansing of Ten Leprous Men

Luke reminds us again that the Lord is on His way to Jerusalem to die there. His route has been determined. On this route are Samaria and Galilee. The disciples are not mentioned. In the history with the ten leprous men it is about how someone becomes a worshiping disciple.

When the Lord enters a village, He meets ten leprous men. These men, in accordance with the law of the leper, remain standing at a distance (Lev 13:45-46). But instead of shouting ‘unclean, unclean’, they call to the Lord that He will have mercy on them. They shout more in their distress than in faith. Yet that is enough to draw His attention to them.

And He does not only hear them; He also sees them. He sees how miserable they are. He does not speak a word of healing, as in a previous case of healing, nor does He touch them (cf. Lk 5:13). He orders them to go to the priests and show themselves to them. He sends them to the priests who will soon condemn Him to death (Mt 26:66; Mk 14:64). His command means as much as ‘you are healed’. It would have been useless to have them declared unclean by the priest. They knew that.

They accept the word of the Lord and go away in that conviction and are healed on the way. The Lord, by His command, challenges the faith of these men, while also maintaining the prescriptions of the law for those under the law. The law requires that a person who has been healed from the plague of leprosy, without saying how this healing could happen, will show himself to the priest to be cleansed. This is carefully described in detail in Leviticus 14.

It is an important prescription that these lepers must follow, for thus it becomes a testimony of the power of God now at work on earth. For, of course, the question will arise: How are these lepers healed? This will in this case immediately draw attention to the fact that the Christ of God is present and that He truly reveals the power of God in grace.

They have to go first. They do not see anything on their bodies when they are told to go, but when they go, it happens that they are cleansed. When one of the ten, a Samaritan, sees that he is healed, he does not walk on to the priests. He returns to the Lord, for in Him He has found God. He acknowledges that Christ is the source of God’s blessing.

The Samaritan is outside Judaism and therefore not entangled in the traditions with which the Pharisees imprison the people. He is therefore free to go back to the Lord. The other nine could say that he is presumptuous, disobedient, and they are not. For they act according to the word of the Lord and he doesn’t do that. He told them clearly that they had to go and show themselves to the priests. However, he is the only one who understands that the Lord Jesus is God. Therefore he goes back to show himself to Him, to throw himself down before Him at His feet and to thank Him. He no longer has to stand at a distance.

The Lord sees the one and asks for the nine others. He has cleansed all ten of them of their leprosy, but the nine have only benefited from His power and are content to remain Jews. They do not leave the old sheepfold, but remain locked up in the legal system. Neither in Him nor in the power of God have they seen anything attractive. After having experienced the advantage of it, they carry on in the same old way. There is no thanks to Him in them.

The Lord asks where they are, a question that still has to be asked today. Where do Christians still come together with the aim of worshiping Him and God for the great work that He accomplished on the cross for their cleansing?

He emphasizes the difference between the nine and the one by asking for it, more by remarking, that only this one stranger gives glory to God. He expresses His disappointment that the nine Jews, the members of His people, did not go to God. At the same time He emphasizes the gratitude of him who stands outside the people of God, but has now in reality become part of them.

The Lord has an additional blessing for the Samaritan, for only he receives the word of salvation [‘has made you well’ is literally ‘has saved you’] from Him, while the nine have only received the announcement of the cleansing of their leprosy. He no longer says a word about showing themselves to the priest. The Samaritan has found God. In the healing of his leprosy he has experienced the gracious power of God, a power he has recognized in Christ and because of what he has given glory to Him.